Excellent Uses for Empty Egg Cartons

Use for storing and organizingWith a dozen handy compartments, egg cartons are a natural for storing and organizing small items. Here are some ideas to get you going. You’re sure to come up with more of your own.

Instead of emptying the coins in your pocket into a jar for later sorting, cut off a four-section piece of an egg carton and leave it on your dresser. Sort your quarters, dimes, nickels, and pennies as you pull them out of your pockets. (Dump pennies in a larger container, such as a jar, or put them in a piggy bank.)

Organize washers, tacks, small nuts and bolts, and screws on your workbench. Or use to keep disassembled parts in sequence.

Keep small Christmas ornaments from being crushed in handy, stackable egg cartons.

Start a fireFill a cardboard egg carton with briquettes (and a bit of leftover candle wax if it’s handy), place in your barbecue grill, and light. Egg cartons can also be filled with tinder, such as small bits of wood and paper, and used as a fire starter in a fireplace or a woodstove.

Start seedlingsAn egg carton can become the perfect nursery for your seeds. Use a cardboard egg carton, not a polystyrene one. Fill each cell in the carton with soil and plant a few seeds in each one. Once the seeds have sprouted, divide the carton into individual cells and plant, cardboard cells and all.

Create shippable homemade goodiesHere’s a great way to brighten the day of a soldier, student, or any faraway friend or loved one. Cover an egg carton with bright wrapping paper. Line the individual cells with candy wrappers or shredded coconut. Nestle homemade treats inside each. Include the carton in your next care package or birthday gift, and rest assured the treats will arrive intact.